Bringing back a lost Ukrainian legacy, Kontapel is now looking for importer and distributor partnerships from the USA.

The USA beverage market is overflowing with choices and adding a new spirit to an importer’s portfolio is never a simple decision. Every bottle must prove its worth and brands must perform at retail. This is where Kontapel stands apart.

Solid founder-driven brand which is now ready to expand into the United States, comes with great support in marketing and offers importers a unique opportunity to start importing in small batches.

USA State distributors can also start working with the brand as Kontapel will begin to use the self-distribution model to get started in the US market. USA State distributors can pick the product from the USA location and sell it in the respective states. Distributors looking to get pricing and samples can register interest here.

The story of the Kontapel brand begins in the not-so-distant year of 2018, when brothers Roman and Andrii Pelekh, in a village in Zakarpattia, accidentally discovered a true treasure of Ukrainian national traditions. While buying a small rural house, the guys found a deep cellar containing just over 90 liters of Kontabas, bottled back in 1993. Along with it, they found a plain school notebook with recipes for various drinks and dishes dating back to the 18th century. The house had belonged to an elderly Ukrainian from Zhytomyr. Long ago, he moved to Zakarpattia, and in 2018, he passed away without close relatives, leaving the house without heirs.

Along with the Kontabas, other objects of the alcoholic culture of that time were also discovered, such as young grape wine and beer from the Austro-Hungarian Empire era. However, the greatest treasure turned out to be the distillate on blackcurrant buds. After studying this drink, the decision was made to revive it in contemporary Ukrainian culture in its authentic form and taste, of course, according to the ancient recipe.

After a while, to raise funds for the production of the Kontabas drink, a brand was created consisting of the words 'Kontabas' and the surname 'Pelekh' — Kontapel. The plan was for the brothers to sell 400 bottles of 1993 Kontabas blended with younger Kontabas and use the proceeds to establish a production facility, which was successfully accomplished.

This hard work is rewarded by the truly divine taste and aroma of Kontabas. As early as the 17th century, wealthy Ukrainian nobles gladly made this drink for themselves and rarely sold it to outsiders.